Ahmed Finest needed to suppose lengthy and laborious about guest-starring within the newest episode of Disney+’s The Mandalorian, as a result of “rollercoaster experience of feelings” he endured because the prequel movie trilogy’s Jar Jar Binks.
A floppy-eared Gungan launched in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, Jar Jar was met with some backlash — both framed as a blatant ploy by Lucasfilm to cater to kiddies, or criticized as a “Rastafarian Stepin Fetchit on platform hoofs” (because the Wall Road Journal put it again within the day). Whatever the accuracy of such assaults, “Due to the backlash, and rightfully so, Lucasfilm backed off of Jar Jar” in subsequent films, Finest as soon as shared.
Having navigated that troublesome time — and going into it as an enormous Star Wars fan, no much less — Finest informed StarWars.com that when The Mandalorian got here calling with the function of Kelleran Beq, a Jedi who rescued Grogu from the Order 66 assault, “Actually, I had to consider it.”
“I’ve been within the Star Wars world for such a very long time and my story is such a rollercoaster experience of feelings,” he shared. “So coming again to Star Wars wasn’t a straightforward choice for me. It wasn’t one thing I may have instantly mentioned sure to. I did should marinate over it for a bit.”
A few of that deliberation stemmed from Finest wanting to guard The Mandalorian.
Kelleran Beq (Disney+ screenshot)
“I actually need Star Wars to ship, and if I develop into an impediment to that, then I shouldn’t be in it. I don’t need to be larger than the story,” he mentioned. “I need to contribute, I need to add to it. So it took me a minute,” earlier than govt producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni “made me need to come again.”
Finest first portrayed Kellern Beq because the host of a Star Wars: Jedi Temple Problem, a web based quiz present aimed toward children. So, “to see that then migrate over to The Mandalorian is actually tremendous particular,” he mentioned.
Particularly since Beq served such a heroic function, as the reply to the query: “How did Grogu survive Order 66, which we all know he laid witness to?”
“I do know this may not be cool to say, however I would like everybody who watches Star Wars to have a look at Kelleran Beq and go, ‘I imagine that man. I need to observe that man. The place does he go? What occurs subsequent?’” mentioned Finest. “I feel all the perfect tales are tales that go away you questioning what occurs subsequent.”
